My particular reason for spouting off this time is that I've just driven back from Cornwall in atrocious weather on the A30, which has a 60/70 mph limit as it keeps swapping from single to dual carriageway, often with inadequate warning to move over. There are roadworks aplenty with restrictions down to 40 in places. The weather was (still is) absolutely pelting down and the resulting spray meant that visibility was down to about 15 metres at times.
So why do people still want to do AT LEAST 70 mph with no lights on. Why. WHY. WHY?!?! It's the speed limit, not the speed target, everybody! You have the gift of discretion so please use it!
Why are you overtaking and pulling right in front of me and spraying my windscreen? Are you really so indignant that I am choosing to do 60mph in the slow lane? Despite my 20/20 vision, efficient demisters and wipers, I still can't see what I'm driving into. What magic skills do you possess that I don't? Are you using sonar? Driving by sense of smell?
Ak, ak ak. I had a blow-out on my rear tyre too. Thank goodness I was driving at the limit in the slow lane at the time; visibility was so bad that it was the sound that alerted me first. No-one else could have seen what happened with the amount of spray.
I don't know how people can happily career into white nothingness at 90mph, being only a frail human, on a badly maintained road in a machine that is apt to fail.
Posts: 1157 | From: Westcountry UK "It's Bootiful" | Registered: Jul 2005
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Here in Seattle the rainy season has begun. How people who drive in the rain for seven months of the year can forget how in the measly two months of sun we get* I'll never understand, but they manage. I'm sure they work hard at it, too.
Seaboe
*just because it's not rainy doesn't mean it's sunny.
-------------------- Education is not the filling of a hard drive, but the lighting of a bulb. -- Yeats via Esprise Me Posts: 5562 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Jun 2005
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I feel your pain. It will be snowing here soon and why do people that drive SUVs believe they are invincable? They don't even slow down in the bad weather. Ice is Ice on the road and they are not immune to it.
Posts: 332 | From: Pennsylvania | Registered: Jan 2006
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These old eyes read "carriageway" as "carnageway". Purely my mistake, I'm sure...
Dog Friendly
-------------------- "Nobody ever got stoned and beat up his old lady" -- Spence, snapdragonfly's friend Posts: 768 | From: North Hollywood, CA | Registered: Aug 2005
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Because of my job I tend to drive somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 miles a year and some of the things I see people do on the road are absolutely frightening. I have no problem with speed in the right conditions, I have a fast car and I'll happily speed with the best of them but to speed in bad weather, when the visibility is low is asking for trouble.
A couple of years ago I was driving home at about 8 in the evening in thick fog, I was doing maybe 40mph at most and having trouble seeing anything at all with a queue of people just sat behind me following when someone passed me doing at least 80/90mph. Now I know that motorway well, it was only a few miles from my house but stopping distance from 90mph is I'm guessing maybe 400 feet, plus reaction time, yet visibility that day was 15-20 feet at best. The Darwin award will one day head this guys way.
Posts: 18 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2006
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Not so long ago, I found myself in the back of a car doing about 140kph through thick fog. The driver did at least slow to about 120kph as we sped through the wreckage of a crash
That was not in the UAE, though. Here, a lot of folk seem to think fog means you put your hazard lights on, and carry on as normal. Posts: 2370 | From: Arabia | Registered: Feb 2002
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It has to be said that the stretch of the A30 from where the A303 ends down towards Exeter and beyond is a terrible bit of road. For such a popular holiday destination is does baffle me why nothing is done about it. However, this does not excuse people driving like madmen madpersons.
We do pretty well for roads around where I live, with two motorways within easy reach and new, well maintained dual carriageways for other routes. However, the roads to Reading and Woking are both still twisting, turning, single carriage roads, this doesn't seem to stop people from trying to negotiate them as fast as possible, ignoring all road markings and driving right up my arse. I'm generally quite a quick driver but I'm really not going to fly round Pirbright bends at 80mph in torrential rain when I don't actually know it that well. Seriously, trying to cut the corner while gambling nothing is coming in the other direction really ISN'T the way forward!
-------------------- Dactingyl is meant to sound a bit like Christingle.
It's not very good but I couldn't think of anything else.
Sorry. Posts: 257 | From: Hants, UK | Registered: Dec 2005
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I live in Michigan, where we get snow every winter (& sometimes fall). People see the first snowfall here & freakin' lose their minds. People who have lived here their whole life seem to forget how to drive in snow the first couple of times they see it each year. I just don't understand it. They either drive way too fast or way too slow. I especially hate driving on the freeway when it snows. Nothing like ducking into the fast lane to avoid someone driving 30 MPH just to almost get run over by some jerk driving 80.
I think SUV drivers, & tow truck drivers are the worst. I think it is because they think having 4 wheel drive will save them. Just because you can accelerate better than everyone else doesn't mean you can turn or stop any quicker. Drives me crazy!
-------------------- I've got a pen in my pocket does that make me a writer? Standing on the mountain doesn't make me no higher. Putting on gloves don't make you a fighter. And all the study in the world doesn't make it science. -Paul Weller Posts: 199 | From: Kalamazoo, MI | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Monza305: I live in Michigan, where we get snow every winter (& sometimes fall). People see the first snowfall here & freakin' lose their minds. People who have lived here their whole life seem to forget how to drive in snow the first couple of times they see it each year. I just don't understand it. They either drive way too fast or way too slow. I especially hate driving on the freeway when it snows. Nothing like ducking into the fast lane to avoid someone driving 30 MPH just to almost get run over by some jerk driving 80.
I think SUV drivers, & tow truck drivers are the worst. I think it is because they think having 4 wheel drive will save them. Just because you can accelerate better than everyone else doesn't mean you can turn or stop any quicker. Drives me crazy!
I grew up in eastern Massachusetts and lived for years in Vermont, and the EXACT SAME THING happens. What a shocker--snow in New England. Who'd have thunk it?!
What's even worse is snow here in Arizona. Yes, contrary to popular belief, it does snow in Arizona (Cochise County is high desert. Bisbee is at 5300 feet elevation). People REALLY lose their freaking minds. A few years ago, I was driving to work in the snow, which wasn't really accumulating much, and some guy was going a whole 10 mph in a 65!
-------------------- NO BETTER FRIEND, NO WORSE ENEMY -- "I grok when apes learn to laugh, they'll be people." Posts: 727 | From: Southeastern Arizona | Registered: Sep 2005
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When locking the brakes on an icy incline and approaching an intersection, pounding on the steering wheel while yelling, "Stop! Stop! STOP!" is not an effective braking technique.
quote:Originally posted by Psihala: Helpful winter driving tip:
When locking the brakes on an icy incline and approaching an intersection, pounding on the steering wheel while yelling, "Stop! Stop! STOP!" is not an effective braking technique.
~Psihala
-------------------- NO BETTER FRIEND, NO WORSE ENEMY -- "I grok when apes learn to laugh, they'll be people." Posts: 727 | From: Southeastern Arizona | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by SeabooMuffinchucker: I know how you feel, Neffti.
Here in Seattle the rainy season has begun. How people who drive in the rain for seven months of the year can forget how in the measly two months of sun we get* I'll never understand, but they manage. I'm sure they work hard at it, too.
Seaboe
*just because it's not rainy doesn't mean it's sunny.
Rain? What is this "rain" you speak of?
Of course, I'm also the person who takes perverse pleasure in watching the west side news stations when there's an inch of snow in Seattle. -snicker-
-------------------- "There is a race between mankind and the universe. Mankind is trying to build bigger, better, faster, and more foolproof machines. The universe is trying to build bigger, better, and faster fools. So far the universe is winning." -Albert Einstein Posts: 1058 | From: Yakima, WA | Registered: Dec 2005
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The first year I moved to Jacksonville from Minnesota it got really cold here. Cold being 19° which is nice and toasty for a Minnesota winter. We all had 4 wheel drives and it was rather amusing to listen to the news talking about possible (cue scary voice) closing in the city when to us, it was really a rather plesant day outside.
-------------------- Conforming meant that everyone liked you except yourself Rebecca Posts: 682 | From: Jacksonville, FL | Registered: Aug 2005
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One benefit of moving from Houston to Dallas is driving in the rain. Nobody in Dallas knows how to drive in the rain, but at least they have an excuse becfause it doesn't rain much.
In Houston, where it rains at least a bit every week and pretty much solid from October through January, you'd think people would figure out what to do. But no, the streets are covered in accidents and most seem to think that rain means speed up.
Posts: 2115 | From: Texas | Registered: Sep 2003
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The Front Range of colorado is SCREWED. I take the bus to work. Normally a 45 min commute. It took over two hours. Sigh. And our power is flickering so the PC's are shutting down every 10 min. WHAT are we going to do with out our humming, glowing boxes that tell us what to do!
-------------------- So many spankings! It feels so good! But at the same time, I don't care about meeting your family! - I'mNotDedalus: Posts: 3216 | From: Denver, CO | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Ryda Wong: The Front Range of colorado is SCREWED. I take the bus to work. Normally a 45 min commute. It took over two hours. Sigh. And our power is flickering so the PC's are shutting down every 10 min. WHAT are we going to do with out our humming, glowing boxes that tell us what to do!
Dammit Ryda! Why is it that as soon as I move to Minnesota, Colorado starts getting more snow? The first year I moved out here was the year Denver got dumped with 10 ft of snow. Will you send some snow our way, please?
-------------------- Triumphs cannot be given. They must be taken, and the worse the odds, and the fiercer the resistance, the greater the honor. -- A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold Posts: 638 | From: Minnesota | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by SlowThinker: I have no problem with speed in the right conditions, I have a fast car and I'll happily speed with the best of them but to speed in bad weather, when the visibility is low is asking for trouble.
I have an acquaintance who used to be a long-haul hazardous waste trucker. I say used to be because he ran into either thick fog or a dust storm once. Despite the fact that he slowed down to a reasonable-for-the-visibility speed, he got caught up in one of those multiple car pile-ups that make such nifty news photos.
Unfortunately, he got hit by another truck. The passenger's side of his cab ended up on the driver's side (driver's side was, essentially, missing). He suffered extensive head injuries, among other things.
The cops and medics found him directing traffic and had a hard time convincing him he needed to go to the hospital. . .
Seaboe
-------------------- Education is not the filling of a hard drive, but the lighting of a bulb. -- Yeats via Esprise Me Posts: 5562 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Terror Dactyl: It has to be said that the stretch of the A30 from where the A303 ends down towards Exeter and beyond is a terrible bit of road. For such a popular holiday destination is does baffle me why nothing is done about it. However, this does not excuse people driving like madmen madpersons.
It IS a stinker, but part of the reason for the bad conditions this time was that large sections down the Cornwall end are being replaced with quite nifty, straight, hard-shouldered dual carriageway, hence currently lots of diversions on B roads, coned-off lanes, etc. By summer 2007 it should be finished, and instead of corner city, in good weather we'll all be able to see a long way ahead. Probably at 20 miles of gridlocked VW vans with surfboards on top, but still. Posts: 1157 | From: Westcountry UK "It's Bootiful" | Registered: Jul 2005
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Do people know how to drve anyways regardless of the weather????
E* I stay off the roads when it snows*E
-------------------- "Taking all the pain I give you Loving blindly in return And I need you more than ever" WWW.Myspace.com/E_E2000 Posts: 1243 | From: Northern VA | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by SlowThinker: I have no problem with speed in the right conditions, I have a fast car and I'll happily speed with the best of them but to speed in bad weather, when the visibility is low is asking for trouble.
I have an acquaintance who used to be a long-haul hazardous waste trucker. I say used to be because he ran into either thick fog or a dust storm once. Despite the fact that he slowed down to a reasonable-for-the-visibility speed, he got caught up in one of those multiple car pile-ups that make such nifty news photos.
Unfortunately, he got hit by another truck. The passenger's side of his cab ended up on the driver's side (driver's side was, essentially, missing). He suffered extensive head injuries, among other things.
The cops and medics found him directing traffic and had a hard time convincing him he needed to go to the hospital. . .
Seaboe
Sounds awful, I drive so much because my company has clients dotted around the country. You do tend to see some stupid things along the way, I've thankfully only ever been caught in one concertina type crash and I was only doing 10mph so it did nothing more than cause me a headache with insurance claims.
Posts: 18 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2006
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quote:Originally posted by SeabooMuffinchucker: *just because it's not rainy doesn't mean it's sunny.
Now you've gone and made me all nostalgic!
Here's my favorite Seattle traffic/weather silliness: One morning while I was getting ready for work, the traffic reporter said that traffic was moving slowly because of the rain. The next day, the same traffic reporter said that the traffic was moving slowly due to sun glare.
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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I learned how to drive in the middle of a Canadian winter. My driver's ed classes, mostly at night, were on sheer ice, or in blizzards, or in icy rain, or with several inches of snow, in freezing cold weather and wind chill. After learning in those conditions, everything was Christmas.
When I got to L.A., I felt like I was the only person who could drive in the rain. That one day a month where there'd be a slight drizzle, everyone in Hollywood began driving like a maniac, possibly due to the oil in the pavement welling back to the surface, I gather. Sometimes I felt like I was the most dangerous person on the streets because I was actually following the traffic laws.
Max "Toecutter always gave me the creeps" Renn
-------------------- Sister Ann: DRIVE! DRIVE Crow T. Robot: Look, I'm already driving, there's no inherent quantity of driving that I can increase! If you want me to go faster, you should say so. Posts: 579 | From: Toronto, Canada | Registered: Apr 2006
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quote:Originally posted by DevilBunny: I might also respectfully request that those of you with ABS brakes remember those of us who don't.
And don't, for example, stop suddenly in snow to let someone out of a side road.
I hear you on that one. My current car does have ABS but my previous one didn't, however, that didn't stop people believing that because their car could come to a stop in seconds that all cars could. I always leave a large distance between myself and the car in front, however, when you're travelling at 70mph down a motorway you still need plenty of warning.
-------------------- Dactingyl is meant to sound a bit like Christingle.
It's not very good but I couldn't think of anything else.
Sorry. Posts: 257 | From: Hants, UK | Registered: Dec 2005
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Not related to the weather, but I had the interesting experience yesterday of sitting in a traffic jam wondering what on earth I should do as the car in front of me suddenly started reversing. Thank god I always leave a large gap between me and the car in front in a traffic jam: had just enough time for him to start reversing, me to blast on the horn and him to stop again before anything untoward happened.
It always amazes me to see how many people don't use their rear windscreen wipers in driving rain as well - how can they see anything through the rearview mirror? - don't worry, I know the answer: they don't use the rearview mirror
-------------------- Silence should never under any circumstances be construed as agreement. A lot of the time, it's simply a reflection that someone just said something so stupid that no response could possibly do it justice. - Ramblin' Dave Posts: 8528 | From: Nottingham, England | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Monza305: I live in Michigan, where we get snow every winter (& sometimes fall). People see the first snowfall here & freakin' lose their minds.
My MIL used to live in St. Clair Shores and she said the same thing to me when she was visiting a year or so ago. <--my reaction. I thought freaking out at the sight of snow was purely a southern thing, more specifically a DC Metro area thing. Open letter to way too many people around here: They're called headlights and they're standard equipment on all makes/models of vehicles, both foreign and domestic. These headlights are especially handy when it's raining.
-------------------- Leashes?! We don't need no stinking leashes!! Posts: 4771 | From: The Berkeley of the East Coast: Montgomery County MD | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
I'm sure I've told this story before, but I post on a few message boards so am not quite sure, so I'll say it again.
One road to my house is on a hill, with a few turns along the way. There is only one lane of traffic in each direction, so of course it made perfect sense to the bloke behind me to overtake me whilst going round a bend uphill. Had he waited a few seconds, he would gone straight into a police van.
Then theres the people who insist on driving as close to you as they possibly can. Why do they do it?
If I'm driving when its raining, I keep a larger distance bewtween me and the vehilce in front, especialy if its a bus or lorry.
-------------------- I am not taking lectures on physics from a man in tights. Posts: 236 | From: England | Registered: Dec 2005
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This goes all year round, but even more in the winter: When moving things in a pickup truck, make sure they are secure. It's dangerous enough in good weather, but when it's slippery with snow out there is particularly bad to have a freakin' table fall out of a pickup truck in the middle of a major intersection.
-------------------- "You're the opposite of troll. It's a compliment!" Posts: 12086 | From: Alberta | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Toys for big boys Then theres the people who insist on driving as close to you as they possibly can. Why do they do it?
That hacks me off too. I'm often thinking "have you never heard of minimum stopping distance?" or "The Highway Code. It's a little book, tells you how to drive. Have you heard of it?"
There was one time I got really hacked off. A road I regularly travel is has lots of bends and undulates quite a bit. The limit is 60, but one day I was following a lorry travelling at 40. About as sensible a speed as a vehicle that size should do on that road. I was following at a sensible distance.
Behind me was a car, which for four miles was so close to my bumper, you could barely get a cigarette paper between us.
At the roundabout, I just stopped, got out of my car and motioned to the driver to wind down her window. Then I casually said "Which part of you thought that tailgaiting me would make the lorry in front move any faster?"
The look on her face was priceless.
Something else that hacks me off is tailgating drivers who obviously want to go faster than me. Then we get to a stretch of road, clear and straight, ideal for overtaking. Do they overtake? No. They stay behind me, bumper to bumper.
-------------------- "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what is commonly known as money. It comes in all sizes, colours, and denominations - like people." Posts: 997 | From: Maidstone, UK | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Toys for big boys Then theres the people who insist on driving as close to you as they possibly can. Why do they do it?
That hacks me off too. I'm often thinking "have you never heard of minimum stopping distance?" or "The Highway Code. It's a little book, tells you how to drive. Have you heard of it?"
There was one time I got really hacked off. A road I regularly travel is has lots of bends and undulates quite a bit. The limit is 60, but one day I was following a lorry travelling at 40. About as sensible a speed as a vehicle that size should do on that road. I was following at a sensible distance.
Behind me was a car, which for four miles was so close to my bumper, you could barely get a cigarette paper between us.
At the roundabout, I just stopped, got out of my car and motioned to the driver to wind down her window. Then I casually said "Which part of you thought that tailgaiting me would make the lorry in front move any faster?"
The look on her face was priceless.
Something else that hacks me off is tailgating drivers who obviously want to go faster than me. Then we get to a stretch of road, clear and straight, ideal for overtaking. Do they overtake? No. They stay behind me, bumper to bumper.
Once driving somewhere in Wilts I was following a lorry too. Nice twisty roads and not being in a hurry, decided to wait the extra couple of miles to the hill with the crawler lane.
For about 2 miles before the hill, I had rep-man in his flash car sooo close . He flew past me on a bend nearly causing an accident. He then tail-gates the lorry.
On reaching the crawler lane my positioning was perfect and I overtook both safely. For some reason rep-man never made it
-------------------- Focus On The Family- An opinion group who think more about Gay Sex than gay people do- Rick Mercer Posts: 590 | From: Rawdon, Quebec | Registered: Nov 2005
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We had our first snowfall over Friday night. The 2 tyre changing places in town were completely blocked by 9.00 am Saturday morning .
I laughed as I had my tyres changed last week.
-------------------- Focus On The Family- An opinion group who think more about Gay Sex than gay people do- Rick Mercer Posts: 590 | From: Rawdon, Quebec | Registered: Nov 2005
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It was a council van that was tailgating. I was tempted to report him.
Mind you, it wont get me anywhere.
They seem incapable of fixing traffic lights. I think they used black tape to fix the one I rang them about. It was a filter for people to turn right. Because that went out, the entire sequence got messed up. The bloke in front didnt seem to realise, so after waiting through what would have been four sequences of lighst for him to figure it my brother jumped out of the car, went up to his window and explained what was wrong. Other folk would probably have justed blasted their horns, which never ever helps.
I try to be as pateint as possible. If someone in front is being slow, I assume they've just passed their test and are a bit nervous, or there's some hazard that sint visible from where I am.
-------------------- I am not taking lectures on physics from a man in tights. Posts: 236 | From: England | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Toys for big boys. I try to be as pateint as possible. If someone in front is being slow, I assume they've just passed their test and are a bit nervous, or there's some hazard that sint visible from where I am.
A good point. But to add, even if there is no good reason for the vehicle in front to be travelling slowly, if it stops, and the driver behind is travelling too close, the driver behind is screwed. The tailgaiter might be okay, but their car is off the road for a while whilst it is getting fixed. In my experiences (several RTA's) a repaired car never really comes back exactly right. It's a lot of hassle at the accident scene, plus a hassle of dealing with the insurance issues. Is it worth the risk to arrive at you destination several seconds earlier than you would have done if you had left a safe gap?
-------------------- "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what is commonly known as money. It comes in all sizes, colours, and denominations - like people." Posts: 997 | From: Maidstone, UK | Registered: Jun 2006
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Or more frequently, you're stuck behind the slow vehicle anyway so you don't get to your destination any faster at all. Not even a few seconds.
I drive a Metro. It's tiny. I do NOT like having the headlights of an Expidetion in my rear view mirror and if you blind me, I have to go slower to compensate for my now-poor vision. (not that that relates to the weather in any way. :sigh:)
ETA: And I don't want my little metro to become a convertable! ('specially not while I'm inside it)
-------------------- Conforming meant that everyone liked you except yourself Rebecca Posts: 682 | From: Jacksonville, FL | Registered: Aug 2005
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